Japan and China need harmony but not antagonism in bilateral relations and should work together to improve ties, Japan's top legislator said in an interview published Wednesday.

For Japan and China to choose harmony but not antagonism is good for peace, stability and prosperity in Asia, Speaker Kono Yohei of Japan's House of Representatives said in an interview with China's leading newspaper the People's Daily.

Speaker Kono Yohei paid an official visit to China on September 20 at the invitation of Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China.

The two countries, Yohei said, should jointly face challenges and share risks, enhancing understanding and promoting relations of friendly cooperation.

Over the past half century after World War Two, Yohei said, Japan has always attached importance to Japan-US relations, and now attention must also be paid to relations with China, South Korea, and other Asian neighbors and European countries.

As close neighbors and two big economies in the world, Japan and China have an exchange of personnel of over 3 million by turnstile count annually, averaging 10,000 arrivals a day.

Meanwhile, as China is to take over the United States as Japan's top trading partner next year, Yohei expressed his regrets that political relationship between the two countries is not as mature as economic ties.

It is a question which statesmen of the two countries must jointly face up to and consider, Yohei said.

He said Japan and China should join hands in cooperation for peace and prosperity of the region and the world as a whole.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2004)